Gas-regulating equipment for railway-cars.



Patented Nov. 26, I90I. l F. W. CHAFFEE. GAS REGULATIMG EQUIPMENT FUR RAILWAY CARS (Application 'led Sept. 20! 1901.) (no Maul.)

si f

l s will t I I INVENTQR y i www ETC/Zai@ i BY I l /l i I Y Lw j /P uhm UNITED STATES PATENT CEE-ICE.

FRANK W. CHAFFEE, OF ALBANY, NEIV YORK.

GAS-REGULATING EQUIPMENT FOR RAILWAY-CARS.

SPEGIFIGATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 687,368, dated. November 26, 1901.

'Application filed September 20, 1901. Serial No. 75,807. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

Be it known that I, FRANK W. CHAEFEE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Albany, in the county of Albany and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas Equipment for Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in gas equipment for railway-cars; and it consists in the novel features of construction, arrangement, and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

The invention pertains more particularly to the means carried by the car through which the gas passes to the tank or tanks supported below the car and from which the gas passes to the usual reducer and thence to the lamps, and the said means in accordance with my invention preferably comprise the usual filling-valve and nozzle, a pipe leading therefrom to the holding-tank, a valve-casing interposed in said pipe and through which the gas passes on its way to the tank, an automatieally-operating valve in said valve-casing,and an unseating device adaptedfor manual operation in said casing.

lhe object of my invention is to produce a system or apparatus through which the supply of gas may pass to the tank, but which will operate automatically to close the passage through the same in the event of accident to the filling-pipe through which the gas is fed to the apparatus carried by the car and also in the event that the attendant, through negligence or otherwise, should omit to close the filling-valve at the nozzle carried by the car upon removing said filling-pipe from said nozzle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a system or equipment carried by the car for enabling the convenient transfer of the gas from the tank of one car to the tank of another ear, this being an operation which may become necessary at smaller stations of a railroad-line,where the usual means for su pplyin g gas at central stations are not present.

The invention and satisfactory means for carrying the same into effect Will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section through a portion of a railway-car equipped y with gas apparatus constructed in accordance `with and embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical section through the valve-casin g interposed in the supply-pipe intermediate the filling-valve and tank. Fig.

l 3 is a transverse section of same on the dotted line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a top view of the automatically operating valve shown within the casing illustrated in Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a face view of a coupling-plate connected with the valve-casing shown in Fig. 2.

In the drawings, 10 designates a portion of a railway-car; 11, the gas tank or holder supported below the ear; 2, the gas-pipe leading from said tank to the usual reducer 13; 14:, the casing for the iillingvalve, and 15 the supply-pipe leading from the casing 14 to the tank 1l and through which pipe the gas-supply must pass to the tank 11.

The casing 14 is of the usual construction and contains the filling-valve and nozzle for receiving the end of the usual rubber pipe, by which the gas intended for the ear is supplied through the filling-valve to the pipe 15. I illustrate the filling-valve and nozzle by dotted lines in Fig. 1, since these are customary features not separately claimed herein,` the nozzle being numbered 16 and the valve 17. The nozzle 16 is simply a threaded device for receiving the end of the ordinary filling pipe or hose, (not shown,) and the valve 17 is operable manually by means of a key upon the opening of the usual cap 18, hinged upon the casing 14:. The usual duty imposed upon the attendant who is to fill the tank 11 with gas involves the application of l the filling-pipe (not shown) to the nozzle 16 of the casing 14, the opening of the valve 17, sothat the gas may pass to the supply-pipe 15, the manual closing of the valve 17 after the tank 11 has become charged, and the removal of the filling-pipe from the nozzle 16. In the event that the attendant should either through negligence or accident fail to or be prevented from closing the valve 17 after the tank 11 has become charged and before the filling-pipe has been detached from the nozzle 16 the gas from the tank would escape through the pipe 15 and valve 17, and in the event that an accident should happen to the IOO filling-pipe, which is not altogether unusual,

`as by being run over or broken by a locomotive, the gas would escape from the tank 11 through the pipe 15 to the valve 17 and the end of the filling-pipe then attached to the nozzle 16. To avoid any danger of the escape of gas under the conditions stated is one of the purposes of the present invention, and to this end I provide in the supply-pipe 15 the valve-casing 19, from which the lower branch of the pipe 15 passes to the tank 11 and to Which 111e upper branch ot the pipe 15 leads from the filling-valve 17. The valvecasing'19, with its inclosed parts, is more clearly illustrated in Fig. 3, in which it willl be seen that at its lower end the casing 19 is formed with the conical valve-seat 20 for the inclosed valve 2l, the latter being provided With the upwardly -extending verticallygrooved stem 22, fitting within and adapted p to be guided by the barrel of the casing 19.

To the lower endet the casing 19 is secured the coupling-plate 23, having an aperture 21 below the valve 2l and provided with the nozzle 25 to receive one end ot' the lower-branch of the supply-pipe 15. Upon the lower side of the valve 21 is a cross-bar 26, (indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4,) which when the valve 21 is off of its seat will extend across the aperture 24 in the plate 23 without closing said aperture, the purpose of the cross-bar 26 being to prevent the valve 21 when unseated from closing the aperture 24E. Upon the side of the valve-casing 19 is secured the couplingplate 27, having the nozzle 28 to receive the upper branch of the supply-pipe 15 and coni taining an aperture 29 in line with the transverse aperture 30, formed in the side of the said valve-casing 19. The grooved stem 22 of the valve 21 terminates at the lower edge of the aperture 30, as shown in Fig. 2, and above the grooved stem 22 is formed the up wardly-extending stud 31, which is considerably less in diameter than the diameter of the bore of the casing 19, so as not to unduly interfere with the entrance of the gas to the interior of said valve-casing. The stud 31 in the normal closed position of the valve eX- tends slightly above the supply-aperture 30 and is directly below the unseating device 33, comprising the head or disk 3-1, stem 35, and knob or handle 36, the latter being above the valve-casing 19, so that by manual operation the attendant by pressing on said knob or handle 36 may cause the head or disk 34 to press against the stud 31 and cause the unseating of the valve 21. By preference the coiled spring 37 will be provided upon the i stem 35 to aid in retaining the unseating device 33 in its upper normal position. (Shown in Fig. 2.)

In the employment of the invention, it being assumed that the tank 11 is to be filled, the iilling-pipe will be connected with the nozzle 16 andthe valve 17 will be opened by means of a key in the usual manner. The

gas will thereupon pass through the upper branch of the supply-pipe 15 to the'ch'amber formed within the valve-casing 19Vand exerting a downward pressure upon the valve 2l will open the latter, whereupon the gas will pass through the lower branch ot the supplypipe 15 and finally reach the tank 1l the latter being of usual construction. It after the tank 1 1 has become charged the attendant closes the filling-valve 17 and removes the filling-pipe from the nozzle 16 and no diflieulty of any other nature arises, the pressure of the gas in the tank l1 acting against the lower side of the valve 21 will close the latter without at such time accomplishing any specially desirable result; but should an accident happen or negligence occur, whereby the attendant should remove the filling-pipe from the nozzle 16 Without closing the valve 17 or whereby during the charging of the tank 11 the filling-pipe should become broken or cut into by a locomotive, the closing ot' the valve 21 by pressure from the tank 11 would perform the very important office of preventing the escape of gas from said tank, said valve 21 closing automatically, and therefore not requiring any attention on the part ot' the attendant.

The valve-casing 19 and its parts is also useful in instances in which it becomes necessary to charge the gas-tank of one car from the tank of another car, and under such condition the nozzle 16 of one car would be connected by a pipe to the nozzle 16 of the other car, and thereupon the attendant would open the passage through the pipe 15 (on the car having the supply of gas) by pressing downward on the knob 36 of the unseating device 33, causing the valve 21 to leave its seat and permit the gas in the tank 11 to flow around the said valve and its stem and find an outlet through the upper brauch of the pipe 15 and valve 17. As soon as the car requiring the gas has been supplied the attendant will remove his hand from the unseating device 33 and allow the valve 21 to seat under the pressure of the gas in the tank 11, the valve 21 at such time at once cutting ott the escape of the gas outward through the pipe 15 even before the valve 17 has been closed or the coupling-pipe removed from the nozzle 16. In the event that after the car requiring the gas has been filled the attendant should through negligence or otherwise omit or be prevented from closing the valve 17 the valve 21 would prevent the escape ot' gas out through the supply-pipe 15.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In gas equipment for railway-cars, the tank carried by the car and adapted to receive the gas for supplying the lamps, combined with the supply-pipe lead-ing to said tank, the nozzle and filling-valve for said pipe, the valve-casing interposed in said supply-pipe and having the valve-seat, and the automatic valve Within said casing and adapted to be opened and closed by the gas-pressures;

IOO

IIO

substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In gas equipment for railway-cars, the tank carried by the car and adapted to receive the gas for supplying the lamps, combined with the supply-pipe leading to said tank, the nozzle and lling-valve for said pipe, the valve-casing interposed in said snpply-pipe and having the valve-seat, the automatic valve Within said casing and adapted to be opened and closed by the gas-pressure, and the unseating device adapted for manual operation to move said automatic valve from its seat in opposition to the pressure in said tank, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In gas equipment for railway-ears, the tank carried by the ear and adapted to receive the gas for supplying the lamps, combined with the supply-pipe leading to said tank, the nozzle and filling-valve for said pipe, the valve-easing interposed in said supply-pipe and having the valve-seat and interior bore, and the automatic valve adapted to said seat and having the grooved stem loosely fitting said bore, said' automatic valve being adapted to be opened and closed by the gaspressures; substantially as set forth.

4. In gas equipment for railway-cars, the tank carried by the car and adapted to reeeive the gas for supplying the lamps, combined with the supply-pipe leading to said tank, the nozzle and lilling-valve for said pipe, the valve-casing interposed in said supply-pipe and having the valve-seat and interior bore, the automatic valve adapted to said seat and having the grooved stem loosely litting said bore, and the unseating device in line with and adapted to engage said stem for moving said automatic valve from its seat in opposition to the gas-pressure in said tank; substantially as set forth.

5. In gas equipment for railway-ears, the tank carried by the car and adapted to receive the gas for supplying the lamps, combined with the supply-pipe leading to said tank, the nozzle and filling-valve for said pipe, the valve-,casing interposed in said supply-pipe and having the valve-seat at one end and outlet-opening at said end, the automatic valve adapted to said seat and having a stem extended along the bore of said casing, and the unseating device at the other end of said casing and adapted for manual operation to unseat said automatic valve in opposition to the gas-pressure in said tank, said casing having in its side the inlet-opening to receive the upper branch of said supply-pipe5 substantially as set forth.

6. In gas equipment for railway-cars, the tank carried by the car and adapted to l'eceive the gas for supplying the lamps, combined with the supply-pipe leading to said tank, the automatic Valve for said pipe and adapted to be opened and closed by the gaspressures, and the unseating device adapted for manual operation to unseat said automatic valve in opposition to the gas-pressure in said tank; substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 18th day of September, A. D. 1901.

FRANK WV. CHAFFEE.

lVtnesses z' OHAs. C. GILL, GUNDER GUNDERsoN. 

